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Research
Training Program
Class of '03
Smithsonian’s Research
Training Program features a ten-week summer internship for 10 – 15
college level undergraduate students to engage in studies on the formation
and evolution of the Earth and similar planets; discovery and understanding
of life’s diversity; and the study of human diversity and cultural
change. Research projects are conducted in-residence at the National Museum
of Natural History in Washington, DC. The program includes:
 Challenging
Research:
Students develop confidence and competence in the natural history research
process by working with a Smithsonian scientist to design and conduct
a research project from hypothesis to presentation
 Stimulating
Curriculum:
Students participate in a diverse series of lectures, discussions, workshops,
demonstrations, behind-the-scenes tours, and field trips featuring one-on-one
interaction with some of Smithsonian’s top scientists.
 Extensive
Resources:
Students also enjoy unparalleled access to the Museum’s 125 million
specimens of plants, animals, insects, fossils, rocks, minerals, meteorites,
marine organisms, and human artifacts as well as the one-million volume
library and experience and guidance of the Natural History Museum’s
professional staff
Program
History
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Founded in 1980
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Co-founder
and current Program Director: Mary Sangrey (Class of 1983)
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Total
number of participants: 470
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Participants
recruited and selected from all over US
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Universities
represented: 251, including 217 US plus 34 foreign.
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Follow-up
information available for 71% students
2003
Applicant Pool
From an applicant
pool of 202, following a competitive process, 15 outstanding
undergraduate students from around the world were selected to participate.
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Number
of US states and Territories represented: 37
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Percentage
International applicants: 25%
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Number
of countries represented: 28
What
are RTP alumni up to now?
Many have gone on
to pursue graduate programs and careers in natural history research
related, or complementary, to their RTP research experience. For example:
 Elisa
Maldonado, Class of 2000. Received B.S., 2002, in marine biology
from UCLA. Currently 2003 Program Assistant. Entering Ph.D. program
in marine biology Fall 2003 at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Education
Collaborations
(between RTP participants and their NMNH mentors)
Results of these
collaborations are 226 products including:
Distinguished
Awards and Fellowships
2 Rhodes scholars.
National Science Foundation awards, since 1996:
- 27 Graduate Research Fellowships
- 30 Honorable Mentions
Where
did this year’s participants come from?
Blue dot indicates
home institution of current participant.
Who
are the 2003 RTP participants?
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Elizabeth
Bollwerk: Junior. Anthropology major at University of Notre Dame.
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Amanda
Cass: Junior. Biological Sciences and History major at Mount Holyoke
College.
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Skye
Chang: Senior. Biology and Anthropology major at the University
of Hawai’i at Manoa.
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Raul
Diaz: Junior. Integrative Biology major at University of California
- Berkeley.
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Miguel
Fernandez: Senior. Biology and Vertebrate Zoology major at Universidad
Mayor de San Andres (Bolivia).
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Lesley
Gregoricka: Sophomore. Anthropology major at University of Notre
Dame.
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Jocelynn
Johnson: Junior. Geological Sciences major at University of Manitoba
(Canada).
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Stephanie
Johnson: Junior. Entomology and Biology major at Cornell University.
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Jennifer
Maloney: Sophomore. Geology major at West Virginia University.
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Brittany
Meagher: Sophomore. Geology major at University of California
- Riverside.
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Abigail
Moore: Senior. Biology major at University of Utah.
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Dalia
Palchik: Sophomore. Anthropology and French major at Tufts University.
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Nancy
Price: Junior. Biology and Geology major at The Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey.
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Danielle
Royer: Senior. Biological Anthropology and Archaeology major at
University of Toronto (Canada).
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Toccarra
Thomas: Freshman. Anthropology major and Film studies minor at
Smith College.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this
year’s program was made possible by grants and endowments from:
Alice Eve Kennington; Smithsonian Women’s Committee; Bill and Jean
Lane; Notre Dame University; and National Science Foundation Reseearch
Experience for Undergraduates (Award #: DBI-0243512).
Want
to ask a question? Visit the Message Board
Virtual
Poster Session Message Board
Here
you can to read other messages and comments, post your own message or
comment, and then receive feedback from the RTP participants.
Research
Training Program
Schedule
of Events |
Poster |
Program
Summary
Student
Abstracts |
Photo
Gallery
Virtual
Poster Session
The
information presented here represents preliminary research as
the result of ten-weeks of investigation in-residence at the
National Museum of Natural History. This is not an official
publication of the information.
As preliminary information, results and/or findings should not
be cited as part of conclusive work. Please contact the authors
first if you wish to utilize the information presented here.
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Research
from
Systematic Biology
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BOTANY
Abigail Moore
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"The
delimitation of Viguiera pazensi and V. procumbens (Asteraceae)"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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BOTANY
Michael
Marchizza
Research Experiences
for Teachers
"Genetic
Variation In Genus Magnolia Using Chloroplast Gene Spacer Sequences"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ENTOMOLOGY
Stephanie
Johnson
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Cyphomyrmex
longiscapus Weber one fungus ant species or many?"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ENTOMOLOGY
Sebastian
Patino
Research
Assistantships for Minority High School Students
"Databasing
Moth Genitalia Facts"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
FISHES
Amanda Cass
Research Experiences
for Undergraduates
"A
preliminary survey of the dorsal gill arches of flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes)
and an examination of potential phylogenetic consequences"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
MAMMALS
Miguel
Fernandez
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Testing
a predictive model of amphibian distributions for Bolivia"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES
Raul
Diaz
Research Experiences
for Undergraduates
"Phylogenetic
relationships among corytophanine iguanid lizards inferred from morphological
characters"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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VERTEBRATE
ZOOLOGY
BIRDS
Hilary Turner
"Ornithology:
A Museum Perspective"
Poster
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Research
from
Paleobiology
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PALEOBIOLOGY
Nancy
Price
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Planktonic
Foraminiferal Turnover and Paleoceanographic Change Across the Aptian-Albian
Boundary in the Subtropical North Atlantic"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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PALEOBIOLOGY
Clemontene
Rountree
Research Experiences
for Teachers
"Ecology
and biodiversity of the Montastraea “annularis” reef coral
species complex "
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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Research
from
Mineral Sciences
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MINERAL SCIENCE
& GEOLOGY
Jocelynn Johnson
Research Experiences
for Undergraduates
"A
Microchemical Investigation of Fossilized Wood: Biological Preservation
and the Influence of Mineralization"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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MINERAL
SCIENCE & GEOLOGY
Jennifer
Maloney
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Cathodoluminescence
Study of Feldspars from the Black Mountain Pegmatite, Maine"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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MINERAL SCIENCES
& GEOLOGY
Brittany
Meagher
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Volatiles
in Sea-Floor Volcanic Glasses South of Iceland"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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Research
from
Anthropology
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Skye
Chang
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Lost
and Found: Forensic Analysis of an 1862 Cast Iron Coffin"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Dalia
Palchik
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"A
Short Case Study of Key Issues Surrounding Gender and Economics in Mali
as Observed Through the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Danielle
Royer
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"The
Spatial Distribution of Early Human Tool-Making Activities One Million
Years Ago in the Southern Rift Valley of Kenya"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Toccarra
Thomas
Research
Experiences for Undergraduates
"Musicianship
in Modern Mali: social and political influences"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Elizabeth
Bollwerk
Notre
Dame Internship Program in Anthropology
"Picking
Out the Pueblos: A Documentation Investigation"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Lesley
Gregoricka
Notre
Dame Internship Program in Anthropology
"CSI
Sheep: Skeletal Reconstruction and Demographic Analysis"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Nicole
Whiteclay
Research
Assistantships for Minority High School Students
"Theoretical
Documentation of Pretty Eagle"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Suzanne Ii
Minority
Internship Program
"Sexual
Dimorphism of the Distal Humerus"
Poster
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ANTHROPOLOGY
Nicole Truesdell
Minority
Internship Program
"Nonmetric
Racing of the Skull in Blacks and Whites"
Poster
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EDUCATION
Soo-Yin
Lim-Thompson
Research
Opportunities Award
"Smithsonian
Outreach: Science Resources for Teachers"
Poster
Abstract
/ Summary
Letter
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More
RTP Class of '03 Links
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